No intention to trivialise any crime, says Jaitley

In a bid to put to rest the controversy over his ‘small rape incident’ remark, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday expressed regret over the statement saying his intention was not to trivialise crime.

“I regret that the statement has been construed or some word that I have used have been construed as insensitive.

That was never my intention,” he said.

He was referring to his remarks on August 20 at the annual state tourism ministers’ conference that “one small incident” of rape in Delhi, advertised world over, was enough to cost India millions of dollars in terms of global tourism.

Jaitley said he has always been outspoken on issues relating to crimes, particularly those against women. His remarks were seen to be a reference to the gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on December 16, 2012 in Delhi.

BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said it was because of BJP’s agitation that laws were amended to deal with such heinous crimes.